280 Rem or 300 Win mag.

[338hammer]

For what its worth.

Its truely what you are actually expecting.
There is absolutely no comparison between the two cartridges under any catagory. I have been a life long handgun hunter. ALong with this, I have carried a 300Win Mag as my backup. With 6.5X20 Leupold I built it for my wife. Actually I use to carry the rifle to the top of the hill and switch with my wife who carried my handgun. Every time she or I touched the trigger on the 300 something fell down. No exceptions. I decided on the 300 Win Mag decades ago because it was the minimum caliber and energy allowed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for Bison hunting. AT the time is was as flat shooting as anything and hit harder than most. To date, various configured 300 Mags are winning different disciplines of long and ultra long range competitions.

I am a hunter exclusively these days and haven't competed in years. There has been a dialog for years regarding the merits of the 7 Mag vs the 300 mag from many including my best friend who carries a 7 Mag and always has. That discussion is no more when we put the two on a chony and he saw the 300 chewing up his 7 mag with the 300 using heavier bullets going much faster. He now carries a 375 Ultra and I carry a 338 Gibbs alternative in my handgun.

280 Remington is a very fine useful cartridge however. I just never had a use for the cartridge.

Not sure if you already have an action for your project. I would go to mcgowenbarrel.com and look around. They will be coming out with several actions for the market by April first. These are precision actions and I have several barrels and no one is making a better product so am really looking for a very affordable action with the same quality as those barrels.

300 Win Mag every time
338

[JD338]

RTV900,

I have a M700 with a Hart #5 24" flutted, chambered in 280AI.
I am shooting the 160 gr AB with excellent accuracy, avg MV is 3019 fps.
You will really like the 280AI, pushing 7mm Rem Mag performance and enough for deer and elk.

JD338

[winmagman]

RTV

If you like the 280 or AI, you might want to look at the 7mm WSM. Same or better velocities and can be built on a short action which will save a little on weight. And no need to fireform brass.

Chris

[landcbeitner]

Originally Posted by 338hammer

There has been a dialog for years regarding the merits of the 7 Mag vs the 300 mag from many including my best friend who carries a 7 Mag and always has. That discussion is no more when we put the two on a chony and he saw the 300 chewing up his 7 mag with the 300 using heavier bullets going much faster. He now carries a 375 Ultra and I carry a 338 Gibbs alternative in my handgun.

I've never heard anyone argue weather the 300 mag could shoot a heavier bullet faster than a 7mm mag. There's pleanty of reloading manuals that will give very specific information on velocities. What I've heard guys arguing about was long range ballistics and weather the 7mm had enough energy at extreme range. You'll notice the a .284" 168gr Berger has a BC of .643 and a bullet of the same weight in 30 cal by the same company has a BC of .512. but it can be fired at 3300+fps instead of 3000+fps for the 7mm mag. At closer ranges there would be no comparison in ballistics or energy, however long range ballistics (and long range energy) in this case would be in favor of the 7 mag. To get a simular BC out of the 30 cal (sticking with the same make of bullet) you'd have to step up to the 210gr with a BC of .631 (close enough to .643 for the sake of argument). The 210gr could shot fast enough to be real close ballistically, but at extreme range the 7mm would again have a slight advantage. This is where the arguments I've heard come from, wheather or not the 7 mag has enough energy (at what ever range) for what you're expecting the bullet to do. I don't mean to ramble I've just never heard of anyone being shocked by the fact that the 300 win mag can fire a heavier bullet faster than the 7mm mag, perhaps we're just running with different crowds.

[rtv900]

I think the 280 is going to do a good job for my needs. I understand that the 280 and 300 are different in many ways but those were the two that I thought would be good for what I am doing. They both have a lot of bullet offerings and are flat shooters. I am now convinced that the 280 will be a good choice. I am looking into how to load the 280AI. Once I get some more info on that I think I am going to place the order for a new gun.

[rtv900]

Thought about it some more last night. Dicided that I am going to order a new rifle today. Its going to be a Rem 700 platform. It will have a 26" fluted barrel, blind mag. custom LOP in 280 Ackley with a little engraving. Hopefully I can have it by May or June.